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the concept of a badminton photo.

i just attended a talk by a famous portrait photographer who shoots a lot of celebrities and have many Time magazine cover shoot to his name.

the core of the talk was about concept. he stresses that he always approach a photo shoot with a concept in mind. before the actual shooting he does all his homework and research the subject and approaches the shoot with the concept that he comes up with.

and he makes stunning photographs.

so on the way home, i am wondering about our badminton photos, can there ever be a concept in mind? if not, then what is the core of badminton photos?

i just attended a talk by a famous portrait photographer who shoots a lot of celebrities and have many Time magazine cover shoot to his name.

the core of the talk was about concept. he stresses that he always approach a photo shoot with a concept in mind. before the actual shooting he does all his homework and research the subject and approaches the shoot with the concept that he comes up with.?

for shooting portrait. that's really necessary to know someone's background and character. unless he/she a real professional in acting or pretending. we can hardly get some good pics out of them without knowing their background.

Originally Posted by kwun

so on the way home, i am wondering about our badminton photos, can there ever be a concept in mind? if not, then what is the core of badminton photos?

it really depends! if we are doing it for our own pleasure. i would say concept isn't really necessary. getting some good action shots will be enough! but doing it as an assignment. we've gotta think a little bit deeper. for example like thinking about the relationship between or behind those 2 players. let's say tauflik vs lin dan in the japan open final. what are u guys gonna take this time? just some stunning actions?
for me. instead of some action shots. i would rather go for some shots of their body languages. can be both sides. if i m shooting lin dan. i will look for a shot of lin saying "tauflik, u can't hide this time!". if i m shooting tauflik then i will look for a shot of tauflik saying "without a bad linecall. who's the man lin?" from my eyes. that would be more interesting than action shots! and in fact, most photographers in my field will do it that way! so, without knowing the story behind them. we ain't gonna make it!
but we have to realize that. that kindda shots might not be happening in the end. don't worry. just choose something else!

for me. instead of some action shots. i would rather go for some shots of their body languages. can be both sides. if i m shooting lin dan. i will look for a shot of lin saying "tauflik, u can't hide this time!". if i m shooting tauflik then i will look for a shot of tauflik saying "without a bad linecall. who's the man lin?" from my eyes. that would be more interesting than action shots! and in fact, most photographers in my field will do it that way! so, without knowing the story behind them. we ain't gonna make it!
but we have to realize that. that kindda shots might not be happening in the end. don't worry. just choose something else!

Involve lots of imagination and wait for it happens. Photography will never get bored in this way.

having given this concept thing more thought, i think concepts can be done for badminton photo taking.

concept can be really a lot of things. imho, one of the goal of a concept is to have a creative constraint on the subject matter. otherwise photos will just be a collection of random shots on the same subject.

eg. imagine if one is going to take a portrait of a CEO. one can either randomly put him in different environments, the park, his company, his car and shoot a bunch of photos of him. or one can come up with a good concept that is related to him, perhaps something to do with his company's product, etc.

similarly, in badminton photo, we can either go and shoot a bunch of players playing badminton, and end up with a lot of mostly unrelated photos. or we can come up with a concept and try to adhere to it while shooting.

what can a concept be for badminton though? are these valid concepts?

- speed
- height (jumping)
- expression
- power
- agony
- win

will adhering to a or more groups of them lead us to more coherent badminton photos?

i just attended a talk by a famous portrait photographer who shoots a lot of celebrities and have many Time magazine cover shoot to his name.

the core of the talk was about concept. he stresses that he always approach a photo shoot with a concept in mind. before the actual shooting he does all his homework and research the subject and approaches the shoot with the concept that he comes up with.

and he makes stunning photographs.

so on the way home, i am wondering about our badminton photos, can there ever be a concept in mind? if not, then what is the core of badminton photos?

Concept in photography was one of three important steps in making a photography. No less than the great American photographer, Ansel Adams, wrote the following 3 steps :

1. Need, or desire, to photograph. This attitude is essential.
2. Discovery of the subject, or recognition of its essential aspects, will evoke the concept of the image. This leads to the exploration of the subject and the optimum point of view.
3.Visualization of the final picture is essential in whatever medium is used.

Overall. the creative-intuitive forces must dominate from the start in all expressive work. If not, the whole concept of photography as a creative medium would be invalid.

As a Leica M user. You should know about Henri Cartier Bresson.
His concept is pretty straight forward and i think it can be applied to any kind of photography. That is catching "the decisive moment".

Yes, he refers to the critical time for making the exposure as the "decisive moment". In many photographic situations, there is one and only one "right" instant to trip the camera's shuttle.
Alas, I haven't touched a camera for years. All my gears are packed in boxes which have not been opened for years.